Saturday 31st January until Sunday 8th February

The 150th celebrations continue.

On Thursday 29th January 1859, Queen Victoria came to Wellington to officially open the school. The stone in Front Quad commemorates the day as you should just be able to make out on the image to the left. The Queen asked for it to be of  "short  and of a somewhat private nature." Her diary notes "Alice and Arthur went with us. It was showery. Got there at half past twelve. George C.,  the Duke of Cambridge, and all the Governors were there. The building is handsome  and admirably arranged. The education will be a very good and thorough one, and Mr Benson,the Headmaster, seems an excellent person."

The Master's Voice

Sponsorship wanted for Mandarin teacher.  We are looking for two year sponsorship for the 'x company fellow' in Mandarin at Wellington College, at the rate of £30,000 per year.  Might your company be interested?  Do you know of another that might?  The fellow will teach in state and prep schools near Wellington College, and galvanise their teaching of Mandarin.  He or she would form an integral part of our 'Confucius Classrooms' project, and will also be involved in our link schools  programmes in China.

General Events

Satuday 31st January is a closed Saturday night as we have the inter-house song competition. This is where all the houses get their chance to become a (large) boys or girls band!

Sunday 1st February sees a full school Mattins at 10:00 a.m. at which the preacher is Kevin Chaplin, managing director of the Amy Biehl Foundation. Parents of the Talbot are invited to this service. The boarders may go on Leave Out after this service.

On Tuesday 3PrdP February from 7:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.PmP. in the Theatre there will be a talk on drugs and alcohol abuse amongst the young, open to all 4th and 5th form parents. After this there will be a chance for parents to talk further if they wish over a coffee or a glass of wine. A letter about this event can be found here. Some parents have had difficulties opening this - all we can think at this end is that the relevant computers do not have a recent copy of adobe on them. Click here to go to a site where you can download (free!) the latest version.

Tuesday 3rd February also provides an opportunity for parents to hear Patrick Mileham give a 150th Anniversary Lecture on "The College History". Patrick has just completed the latest college history and is giving a fascinating insight into the history of Wellington. The lecture is in Great School with at 8:00 p.m. start. All are welcome  and refreshments will be served. Please contact Denise Cook if you wish to attend.

Performances of Bouncers, held over form last term, are taking place this week from Wednesday 4th February through to Friday 6th February. The venue is in the Theatre, which is a change from the calendar, and the performances start at 8:00 p.m.

The next meeting of the business networking group The Business Forum will be on Thursday 5 February at 7:15 a.m. in the Wellesley Dining Room. The theme for the February event will be "So what should we do about pricing?" and the talk will be given by Terry Irwin, Director of TCii Strategic & Management Consultants. Prices and margins in virtually every industry are facing downward pressures like never before. New technology, unlimited access to information and increasing global competition, plus the looming recession, are conspiring to force prices into a seemingly endless spiral. Terry will address these issues and highlight what actions he believes you should take to counter this. He will then lead a discussion based around this theme calling on attendees to put forward their own views or experiences. The Business Forum combines a relaxed informal gathering for business networking with a forum for discussing key business topics. It meets once a month on the first Thursday of each month at 7.15am, finishing by 9.15am. Each meeting gives attendees a chance to network, introduce themselves and participate in the forum. The cost is £18 and includes a full English breakfast. For more information and a booking form please go to the web site on www.thebusinessforum.biz or contact Sue Heddon on sue@heddoncommunications.co.uk or 07774 267280.

On Thursday 5th February in Great School  we welcome Edward Chaplin CMG, OBE to give a lecture entitled "Dealing with Dictators". Currently he is Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Italian Republic and San Marino  having taken up this appointment in October 2006. He is also an OW - Hopetoun 1964-68. He has dealt with a variety of dictatorial regimes during his career in the Diplomatic Service, including those of Robert Mugabe, Ayatollah Khomeini and Saddam Hussein. As well as describing some of the success and failures of the past, he will reflect on how the international community might deal more effectively with dictators in the future. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and a pay bar will be available.  Please contact Tarla Woolhouse if you wish to attend.

Parents are most welcome to have a school lunch in the Main College Dining Room on Saturdays. Lunches will be available to parents between 12: 30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. and the cost is £2.50 per head (cash please) for a two-course lunch. Even if you will not be staying for a match do come along, make yourself known to the Duty Catering Manager who will guide you through the system.  It is not the formal occasion that it used to be!

On Saturdays in the V & A the counter is open for coffee, tea, milkshakes and goodies between 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. Between 12:00 and 10:00 p.m. the catering department will provide flasks of coffee and tea in the V & A for people to assist themselves. If you have any queries concerning these arrangements do either e-mail the Bursar ( 01344 444020) or the Catering Manager, Phillip Stockwell.

On Saturdays from 1:00 p.PmP. to 3:00 p.PmP.  by appointment  there is the opportunity for consultations with the Educational Support Department regarding your child's specific educational needs. Please email Carole Blunden-Lee to make an appointment .

Saturday 7th February is a closed Saturday for theThird From as they are all going up to the West End  to see a show.

There is a full school Eucharist on Sunday 8th February at which the preacher is the Reverend Rodney Dreyer, the vicar of St. Laurence, Hawkhurst. Parents of boys in the Beresford are invited.

Can we ask parents to order tickets for Jesus Christ Superstar before half term where possible and to remind them and their  sons/daughters that payment will be needed before tickets are issued.  Order early to avoid disappointment- Adults £5 and Students £4. Email  info@Pwellingtoncollege.org.uk. Cash payments must be brought into Reception but cheques can be sent through the internal mail or post.  No Sundries or Credit Card bookings on this occasion. 

Letters Home

To try and cut down on the amount of paper we send out and to try and not bombard parents with large numbers of posting, e-mails and information generally, we plan to use this section of the Week Ahead to include letters we would normally send out - either electronically or by post. If there are parents who would still rather receive everything on paper, please e-mail the College Secretary. We still anticipate sending out paper copies  of reports, bills and the Master's letters. To open some of these letters you will need to log on to the intranet as the page they are saved on is only viewable to those in the Wellington community. Do contact me if you need the password - details are further up  in this Week Ahead. All letters home of this sort are stored here. If for any reason you want to see a back copy of the Week Ahead they are all available on the internet.

On Saturday 14th March, there is a Sports Dinner for the girls and their parents. Here is a copy of the invite with more details.

Sport

Saturday 31PstP January is the turn of the netball and basketball teams to take on Pangbourne, the hockey players compete withLord Wandsworth and the footballers playTonbridge. in addition there are the Wellington College cross country relays on, the shooting team travel to RGS Guildford and the badminton team travel to Harrow.

In a calendar addition our Under 15 Daily Mail squad are playing Berkshire Under 15's in a trial match on Sunday 1PstP February; 3:00 p.PmP.  kick off on Bigside 1.

Tuesday 3PrdP February sees our netball girls in action against  Heathfield St. Mary's , the rackets team  travelling to Haileybury  and the squash team to KCS Wimbledon.

More netball against  Heathfield St. Mary's on Thursday 5th February as well as our cross country team entering the Radley Relays, the shooting team travelling to Epsom, the junior golfers taking on Radley and Bradfield at Wellington, the squash team travelling to Charterhouse and the fencing team competing with RGS Guildford .

The block fixtures on Saturday 7th February for hockey are against Tonbridge, for netball against Cranleigh and for football against St. John's Leatherhead. In addition the cross country team run at Cranleigh, the shooting team welcome Cheltenham and the Badminton team travel to Abingdon.

Next week, on  Tuesday 10th February we play our Under 15 Daily Mail Quarter Final against Judd School on Bigside 1. The kick off time is 2:30 p.PmP.

Netball, hockey and football fixtures and results can be found on the Wellington College Intranet.

Further Ahead

On Monday 9th February in Great School  we welcome Charles Crawford CMG to give a lecture entitled "Is Russia too big or too small?". Russia has had nearly eighteen years of its transition away from Soviet rule. How is it doing? Why does it matter? Is Russia doomed to be on the edge of Europe? Or is Europe doomed to be on the edge of Russia? From 1991-96 Charles Crawford served in the FCO and Moscow at the heart of the British policy response to the collapse of the Soviet Union. He is a leading international expert on the policy, practice and psychology of the 'transition' away from Communism in Europe. Doors open at 7:30 p.PmP. and a pay bar will be available.  Please contact Tarla Woolhouse if you wish to attend.

Friday 13th February is not going to be unlucky for tuba aficionados as at 7:30 p.m. in Great School there is an opportunity to see a world-class tuba player from Norway - Oystein Baadsvik. "Baadsvik shows that anything a violin can do, a tuba can do too" Have a look at some clips on You-tube and you will see what a fine player he is, and what a great entertainer.  The concert is free.

The Jesus Christ Superstar cast will be required for rehearsal on the Sunday 22nd February.  The Sunday is in Half Term, just before the whole school returns.  The rehearsal will run from 2:00 p.PmP. until 6:00 p.m.  It would be helpful if students could eat lunch prior to the start time of 2:00 p.m. and dinner will be arranged for students in the evening.  Many thanks to parents of the cast for their ongoing support.  Please contact Amelia Morse in case of any problems.

On Thursday 26th February, the College are holding an 'Oxbridge Applications Information Evening' for parents of potential Oxbridge applicants in the 4th, 5th and L6th years. Admission to these Universities has never been more competitive and lots of myths abound. The Master will speak on 'The Academic Mind', Dr. Louise Fawcett (Senior Tutor at St. Catherine's College, Oxford and formerly Tutor for Admissions) will speak about the application process for Oxford and Cambridge, and Simon Allcock (Master in charge of Oxbridge) will speak about what potential applicants need to be doing. There will then be time for questions. The evening will begin with a buffet supper in Old Hall at 7pm, and the main session will be in Great School at 8pm, and finished by 9.30pm. Please do contact Simon Allcock  for further info. For catering purposes, we need an RSVP (by Friday 20th February) to Mrs. Sally Yarnton stating number of parents, name of son/daughter and whether you are coming for the supper too.

As part of our 150th celebrations we are trying to raise £150,000 for Hope and Homes - a charity that helps children whose lives have been ruined by war. We hope that one component of this will be an on-line auction. In particular this summer, inspired by an idea from the pupils, a group of pupils and staff are swimming the Channel in aid of Hope and Homes for Children and Berkshire Air Ambulance.  To help raise money for such worthy charities, Eunice Gillan and Kitty Jack are organising a Promise Auction on Thursday 19th March at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Hall.  Your help would be greatly appreciated by all!  If you have a promise that could be auctioned that evening please contact Eunice Gillan. Many thanks for your help in advance!  Tickets for the event will be available from the beginning of March - more details to follow.

Places on the WCA trips to Paris (24th to 26th April), the Trenches (15th to 17th May) and Waterloo  (September 26th to 27th) are filling up fast.  Contact Denise Cook to reserve your place.

There is a diving trip being run to the Red Sea between 26th June and 3rd July of this year. Currently there are twelve places left of this 'live-aboard' diving expedition out of Hurghada which is open to both parents and pupils. Interested parties should contact Eddy Heddon for further details. Dive qualification training will take place on Wednesday afternoons in the summer term. To get some idea of what the trip involves please view here.

If any parent is interested in becoming involved with the Wellingtonian sailing trip between Cannes and Elba in early July to celebrate the 150th anniversary, raise funds for Hopes and homes and retrace Napoleons Bonaparte's return from exile please e-mail Ian Frayne.

In the last week of August, Simon Lockyer and I  am planning to take a group of pupils to Ireland. the challenge is 7 days, 7 islands walking/cycling from the oldest church to the highest point on each of them. Spectacular scenery guaranteed , decent weather not but hoped for! The image to the left is of a sunset over Inishturk, one of the putative seven. If your son or daughter is interested, please either contact Simon or me.

This is a final call for all 4th, 5th and L6th form Geographers who are interested in this unique 10-day tour of Japan. By now, parents should have received details of the trip by post - thank you to all those who have replied so far. We still have a limited number of places on the trip so if your son or daughter is interested in joining us on this high-tech, high speed geographical extravaganza, please contact me as soon as possible!  If you want more details they can be found here. 

Art Exhibition

The V & A is  hosting a new exhibition of pupils' art. This is the opportunity for the Upper Sixh to show off their skills with an exhibition of portraits. Three of them are reproduced below. Certianly well worth a look the next time you are in College.